


Expectation Versus Reality

by destieldrabblesdaily



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, M/M, jealous!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-16 21:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2285646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destieldrabblesdaily/pseuds/destieldrabblesdaily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel has the hots for his roommate and best friend Dean Winchester. Sadly, all Dean seems to be interested in is sleeping with random girls, even kicking Castiel out of their shared room frequently so that he can mess around with said girls. But when Castiel finally gives up and goes on a date with Balthazar, Dean discovers that he has all sorts of not-so-platonic feelings for his best friend...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expectation Versus Reality

**Expectation.**

_Castiel had died and gone to heaven, he was sure of it. That was the only explanation as to why he was in Dean Winchester’s bed, their naked sweaty bodies rocking together deliciously. Dean was covering Castiel in kisses, here and there sucking marks into the sensitive skin of his throat._

_“Dean… Please. I want you…” Castiel didn’t care that he was begging, he couldn’t wait any longer for Dean to finally give him what he’d craved for so long._

_Dean looked up from where he’d been licking and kissing Castiel’s collarbone, his green eyes shining, pupils blown wide with lust._

_“Yeah, I’ve got you, baby.” He whispered. “I’m gonna make this so good for you, I promise. Gonna make sure this will be your best birthday ever…”_

~

**Reality.**

The sound of giggling and a door slamming shut was what woke Castiel up from his accidental nap, the dream at once slipping away to Castiel’s deep dismay. He slowly opened his eyes, momentarily disorientated. The book that he’d been reading before he’d fallen asleep was still resting on his chest, and when Castiel sat up it crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

Castiel’s eyes darted to the door of the dorm room that he shared with Dean, and standing there was the man himself. A brown haired girl was attached to Dean’s arm, hence the giggling sounds.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Castiel suppressed a sigh. So it was going to be one of _those_ days, and on Castiel’s birthday nonetheless. He hadn’t expected much of his birthday to begin with, but at least hanging out with his best friend for the night would’ve been nice.

“Heya, Cas.” Dean greeted, giving Castiel a look that clearly communicated something that Dean deemed vitally important.

“Hello, Dean.” Castiel meekly responded, already guessing what it was Dean wanted; to have the room to himself so that he could mess around with the girl. It happened at least three times a week, and Castiel was used to it by now.

Dean proved him right less than five seconds later, when he suggestively cocked his head at the girl. “Hey Cas, would you mind if…” Dean trailed off, but waved his hand at the door to make his point.

Castiel huffed out an exasperated sigh, but complied, as always. _Anything for Dean_ , because Castiel was so sickly and undeniably in love with his gorgeous friend, and therefore couldn’t deny him anything.

Putting on some shoes and hastily taking his phone and keys, Castiel was ready to flee the room so that he wouldn’t have to witness Dean getting all over the girl. As Castiel passed them, Dean gave him an amiable clasp on the back.

“Thanks man, you’re the best.” Dean drawled.

Without giving Dean a reply, Castiel hurried out of the room.

This was going to be the worst birthday _ever._

~

The only consolation Castiel had was that at least he had a place to go whenever Dean kicked him out. Castiel’s older brother Gabriel went to the same college, and his room wasn’t all that far from Castiel’s.

Currently, Castiel was sitting on Gabriel’s bed, watching his brother who was sitting at his small desk, doing research for some essay while he sucked on a bright orange lollipop. Gabriel’s grumpy roommate Victor was nowhere in sight.

Next to Castiel on the bed lay the unwrapped gift that Gabriel had gotten him for his birthday. It was a photo editing program that Castiel had wanted to get for his laptop, but up until now hadn’t because it had been too expensive; despite the fact that Gabriel liked pulling pranks on Castiel at times, the older Novak was a pretty great brother.

“Look, Cassie.” Gabriel suddenly started, not looking up from the book that he was still browsing. “I know Dean is your friend, and you care about him and all that jazz, but may I remind you that it’s _your room_ as well? If he’s gonna be a douche about it all the time, you should really just call him out on it.”

“It’s not that simple… He’s not that bad, he just doesn’t realize it’s annoying, I guess.” Castiel automatically defended Dean. “Besides, when he does have time for me it’s… We have a lot of fun, and he can be very sweet when he wants to...”

Gabriel clicked his tongue, turning around in his chair to face his younger brother. “I know you have a thing for him, baby bro. But he _is_ being a douche, and still you’re worshipping the ground he walks on. I’m just saying it’s not healthy, just some free brotherly advice.”

Before Castiel could think of a good reply to that, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Gabriel called.

“Ah, hello. Gabe, would you mind terribly if I borrowed some of your notes? I missed class yesterday.” A guy with dirty blond hair and a heavy British accent asked as he stepped into the room.

Gabriel shrugged and gestured at the mess of papers on his desk. “Not at all, just take what you need.”

Only now did the eyes of the British guy land on Castiel, and he grinned.

“Who do we have _here_?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you subtle? That’s my little brother Cassie. Cassie, this is my friend Balthazar.” He introduced them.

Castiel watched curiously as Balthazar smoothly sat down on Gabriel’s bed beside him, holding out a hand for Castiel to shake.

“It’s a true pleasure.” Balthazar said, suggestively raising his eyebrows as they shook hands.

“It’s- it’s nice meeting you.” Castiel said shyly, flustered because of this kind of attention that he usually didn’t get from anyone. “And it’s Castiel, not Cassie.” He added with a scowl at Gabriel.

Gabriel poked his tongue out at Castiel, but then went back to his research.

“Aha, I see, _Castiel_. Hey, what’s this you’ve got?” Balthazar asked, holding up the wrapping paper.

Castiel felt himself blush even deeper. “It’s my birthday, Gabriel bought me a present.”

“It is?” Balthazar asked, sounding almost delighted at that thought. “Happy birthday to you then.” He said, shocking Castiel by pressing a sudden kiss to Castiel’s cheek.

“I- ehm… Thank you.” Castiel said lamely.

No one ever acted towards him like that. Like he was worth _looking at_. Like he was worth _talking to._ Like they were _interested_ in him. It was very refreshing, and quite frankly, Castiel felt flattered.

“So, does our birthday boy have any big plans for tonight?” Balthazar asked conversationally.

Castiel didn’t get a chance to answer him, for Gabriel snorted loudly. “Knowing my little bro, he’s just going to sit here quietly and wait it out.” He cut in.

Balthazar frowned at Castiel. “Is that so? Well if you’re not doing anything anyway, I can think of a more _fun_ way to spend your birthday.”

“Oh gross, are you really hitting on my brother with me right here in the room?” Gabriel protested, making a gagging noise.

Castiel was certain that his face could put a tomato to shame by now.

“Why not?” Balthazar countered, no traces of shame in his tone. “Come on, Castiel. I’ll take you out to dinner, I know a nice restaurant… We can get to know each other a little better. Simply an innocent birthday date, what do you say?”

“I… Yes, why not.” Castiel found himself saying the words without giving it much thought.

Deep down, he knew that he was not actually attracted to Balthazar, but merely honored because of all the attention. Deep down he also realized that what he was doing was using this as a _distraction_. But then again, what was wrong with one innocent date? Would it be so wrong for Castiel to actually have some fun on his birthday, settle for something else if he couldn’t get the thing he actually wanted? Castiel didn’t think so…

“Wonderful!” Balthazar said. “It’s still early, so what do you say I’ll be back here in an hour or so to pick you up?”

Again Castiel found himself saying ‘ _yes_ ’.  Perhaps Gabriel was right; the world didn’t revolve around Dean Winchester. There had to be more out there for Castiel…

~

Balthazar wasn’t a bad date, or at least Castiel didn’t think so; not like he had any other dates to compare it to. The guy was very talkative, and at some point it started to get a bit exhausting, but aside from that, he was a gentleman, and the restaurant actually turned out to be as good as Balthazar had claimed it was.

The guy even offered to walk Castiel back to his room when they got back to campus, and Castiel, still overwhelmed by all the attention, agreed. When they reached Castiel’s door, he wasn’t sure what to do. Offer Balthazar to come in? It was Saturday night, so Dean would be out for sure, probably picking up his next victim…

And Castiel decided _why not_? Why not have a little fun? The several glasses of wine that Castiel had consumed during dinner probably did have something to do with it, but he ended up saying the crucial words anyway.

“Would you like… Would you like to _come in_?”

Balthazar’s sly smirk was enough of an answer, and Castiel unlocked the door to lead Balthazar inside. When he closed the door behind them, a disgruntled Dean glanced up from his laptop. He was sitting on his bed, from the looks of it playing some kind of video game.

Castiel froze. This had not been part of the plan.

“Ehm… Hello Dean.” He awkwardly nodded at Dean, who was now closing the lid of his laptop.

“Heya, Cas… Who’s this?” Dean asked, not beating around the bush and jerkily cocking his head at Balthazar, who was hanging on Castiel’s arm.

Dean didn’t seem pleased at all, and it confused Castiel. Surely he couldn’t be mad about Castiel taking someone to their room; Dean did it all the time.

“This is Balthazar, he’s a friend of my brother... He took me out on a date to celebrate my birthday.”

As if on cue, Balthazar awkwardly waved at Dean.

At that, Dean got up from the bed so quickly it nearly made Castiel dizzy, his pretty freckled face twisting into a mask of utter terror, his green eyes wild.

“You… Your what?!” He sputtered out. “I… I didn’t even know it was your _birthday_ …”

Castiel held up a hand, his anger seething just below the surface. It was mostly the wine talking, but something snapped inside of Castiel, months of pent up frustration messing with his verbal filter.

“It’s fine, Dean. I know you don’t know. I know you could care little about my birthday, or about how I always get up early to get you coffee in the morning, or about how I always let you have the room to yourself whenever you drag home yet another girl.”

Dean glowered at both Castiel and Balthazar. “That’s what this is about? Getting back at me?” He said, voice dangerously low. “You let this clown take you out and…”

“Hey!” Balthazar exclaimed at the insult.

Dean ignored him altogether, focusing only on Castiel now.

“You can’t be serious, Cas! I mean if I hadn’t been here… Were you going to let him _fuck you_?!”

Castiel flinched at the harsh words, but soon regained his composure.

“I don’t see how that is _any_ of your business, Dean.” He spat venomously, taking a few steps forward and getting right up in Dean’s personal space. “And you’re one to talk, this is what you do nearly _every day_! Why would I be getting back at you? Am I not allowed to enjoy myself as well?”

The two of them were staring each other down, but hell would freeze over before Castiel would even _consider_ looking away first.

“Oh dear…” Balthazar commented dryly from behind them. “This has been fun, Cassie, but I can see that you’re already _emotionally taken_. I’m out of here, good luck with whatever this is.”

The click of the door as Balthazar left made both Castiel and Dean blink. Castiel could feel Dean’s hot breath against his lips, because they were _that_ close.

“What is this about, Dean?” Castiel asked, voice softening; he was genuinely curious to hear an explanation. “You forget my birthday, you even kick me out of my own room to get it on with a girl you barely know, and then you get angry at me because I decided to at least make my birthday somewhat _enjoyable_?”

For a long minute, Dean seemed deep in thought, as if seriously contemplating that question. Meanwhile his face gradually shifted from irritated, to shocked, to downright _terrified_ , green eyes growing wide.

“Oh god, Cas… I… _I didn’t know_ …” It was nothing but a broken whisper that escaped Dean’s alluring plump lips at last.

Castiel sighed. “Yes, you already told me. You didn’t know it was my birthday, but that’s not the issue here…”

Dean cut Castiel off by placing his warm hand over Castiel’s mouth.

“No, Cas… I’m not talking about your birthday. I didn’t know that I… I didn’t know, but then I saw you together with _him_ and I just… Oh god, I’m such a selfish dick, and I…” Dean was babbling incoherently, and if Castiel had been confused before, right now he was nothing short of _clueless_.

When Dean removed his hand from Castiel’s mouth and pulled Castiel in for a hug that was unreasonably tight, things got impossibly more confusing.

“Dean…” Castiel grumbled against Dean’s shoulder, trying to ignore how good it felt to be in the other boy’s arms. “You’re not making any sense, and we’re in the middle of an _argument_. This is not an appropriate time for _hugging_.”  

“Actually it _is_ , and this hug was way overdue.” Dean sighed into Castiel’s neck, making him shiver in all the right ways.

“Dean… You can’t just distract me like that, I was _angry_ at you.” Castiel muttered, annoyed at himself for letting Dean have that much of an influence with a simple touch. “And I still don’t understand what you were trying to say.”

Dean freed Castiel from the prison of his arms, then sat back down on the bed, his eyes pleading for Castiel to sit down with him. Castiel did, reluctantly so.

“I saw you with, with _that guy_. And the idea of you and him… I mean, the idea of you and _anyone_. I just… I wanted it to be _me_. _I_ should’ve taken you out to dinner, _I_ should’ve bought you a birthday present… _I_ should’ve made you laugh. Because I love when you laugh and I… I don’t know, I should’ve known how I felt about you, man.” Dean ranted, barely taking breaths between his sentences. “And now I even ruined your date, and I’m such a dick, but apparently _I like you_ and…”

“You _what_?” Castiel interrupted, staring at Dean, slack jawed.

Unless Castiel’s brain was making things up now, Dean had unmistakably spoken the words ‘ _I like you’_.

“I think I like you, Cas…” Dean repeated, averting his eyes and looking at the bed sheets instead of Castiel’s face.

Castiel ducked his head to get back into Dean’s line of sight.

“And you’re figuring this out now, Dean? After you’ve slept with everyone and their grandmother!”

The green eyes that Castiel so often dreamed about looked sad, ashamed.

“I never even knew I felt like this before I saw you with someone else…” Dean whispered. “I was stupid, and you… You’re freaking _amazing_. You know, I _do_ love you for getting me coffee in the mornings. And for helping me with my essays, and for talking to me when I miss Sammy, or mom, or dad. I love you for being around and I… I took it for granted.”

As per usual, Castiel couldn’t stand to see Dean unhappy. It appeared that his friend was telling the truth, and Castiel decided that it was time to let him off the hook for being insufferable and selfish. To let Dean know that he was calling a truce, this time Castiel was the one who initiated a hug, and Dean gratefully melted into it. They didn’t move for a while, reveling in their closeness.

Castiel eventually broke the silence.

“So… You _like me_ , huh?” He teasingly hummed into Dean’s ear.

Dean didn’t say anything, but partly pulled himself out of their hug, so that he had just enough room to turn his head and kiss the corner of Castiel’s mouth. Castiel’s heart might have been singing at that simple gesture.

“Sorry for not getting you a birthday present.” Dean apologized against Castiel’s lips.

Castiel chuckled quietly. “That’s fine, Dean. You still have time to make up for that… And _everything else_...”

~

One hour later, they were both rolling around in Dean Winchester’s bed, their naked sweaty bodies rocking together deliciously…

Only this time, it _wasn’t_ a dream. And when Dean whispered into Castiel’s ear that he was going to make him feel _good_ … Castiel was certain that this had to be the _best_ birthday ever. 

**Author's Note:**

> For more Destiel stories, follow destieldrabblesdaily.tumblr.com


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